There's always a special flavor to the act of busting someone who has blatantly copied someone else's creative work without any attribution. Just ask Beirut/NTSC, he specializes in hunting these down.
Of course it's not always black and white like with the ad mentioned in my recent post Candia With A Chance of Meatball.
However, when my good friend Hady Chandler Chehlaoui (some of you might know him from his funny videos as part of To Dum Brothers) showed me this ad, by yet another energy drink manufacturer, there were no grey areas and no hesitation, that's plain plagiarism.
I am not a fan of energy drinks and prefer to stay away from them altogether and this is why I probably missed this ad but here it is for your viewing:
Now jump ahead and watch this ad for chocolate energy bars called Japp.
As you might have seen the original Leo Burnett ad was done back in 1995 as part of an original 4-ad series revolving around the same concept and characters ( You can watch them and more here).
As many have highlighted before me, it's amazing how some people still think they can get away with such flagrant copying at a time where everything is one Google page away.
Yes, I dare you to produce a business owner or manager in Lebanon, that does not consistently complain about cash liquidity, bad paying customers, and the endless list of excuses that these customers are able to come up with to simply avoid settling their dues.
Not paying on time (or even at all) has become a national sport to the point where one may suggest it even deserves its own federation.
Think about it: The Federation of Accounts Outstanding.
It has a ring to it, a "je ne sais quoi" of a financial version of "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" only more sordid. I am also even sure we would be entitled to follow on TV the never-ending politically motivated squabbles when they decide to elect their board *cough*FLB*cough*.
Although a handful of businesses still maintain a healthy reputation for settling their dues, a mix of a degrading economical situation, lack of swift actions by the judicial system, and a very individualistic non-team-playing pop culture has made this a trademark of today's Lebanese business scene.
This quote by the very talented Ted Danson's character Dr John Becker from the comedy sitcom Becker illustrate our predicament in this country:" That's the problem with the world, everybody says "Everybody does it," so everybody does it!"
I am assuming that there are enough scientific studies to prove that if everybody did pay their dues, everyone would end up with more money to spare eventually. "Money begets money" as the proverb goes ( I will refrain from using the second half of the Lebanese version of the proverb goes)
Anyway, what better way to illustrate this other than by giving you examples of the ingenious payment-evasive skills of your average Lebanese business owner:
Location Based/ Absence Related Excuses:
The CEO/CFO/Accountant is out of office/town/country/universe (sick, leave, divorce, marriage...etc)
Your account manager is on maternity leave; she was handling your papers
I am talking to you while roaming. I will sign the check once I am back in Lebanon.
I am back in Lebanon, but I did not go to the office yet.
I am not currently at my desk. Call me again tomorrow.
Misplacement Of Items
We cannot find your invoice, please send us a copy again.
We cannot find the checkbook (variant: The checkbook is finished, we need to get a new one)
We cannot find the signed check. We will have to issue a new one.
Administrative Delays
The management did not yet approve the payment (no reasons given)
The check is being prepared (I can never tell if they are actually designing & printing the check or if they have someone who writes r.e.a.a.a.a.a.a.l.l.y slow)
The check has been signed by one person, we are waiting for the second signature.
The check has been signed, but I am not authorized to hand it to you yet.
The check is in the safe. The manager has the combination and is not here today.
I am too busy right now, I cannot verify if the check has been made out (usually comes with multiple mouse click sounds associated with minesweeper or solitaire)
The check is issued by the main office outside Lebanon. We need to send them an email reminder for them to mail it in to us.
We just implemented a new policy that dictates that payment is done 45 days after the invoice. Yes, the policy was not in place when you invoiced us, but we have to implement it now.
The list can go on and on, with a multitude of variants on these all-too-blatant basic excuses, but at the center of the matter lies a much bigger malaise. We take everything for granted: Our parents, our children, our friends, our loved one(s) and eventually our business contacts. The way we do business reflects who we are as a society: self-centered, distrustful, short-sighted, ego-bloated and eventually tragicomical.
RYMCO is the local dealership for Nissan, Infinity and an array of other brands in Lebanon.
They enjoy an overall positive reputation and have actively conquered a considerable market share due to various tactics and strategic choices, supported by an increasing popularity for the Nissan brand worldwide. Since its Alliance with Renault under the Leadership of French-Lebanese businessman Carlos Ghosn, Nissan has been a brand with vision.
Our story goes back to November 22nd , 2013. RYMCO had launched a massive campaign promoting the Juke a new crossover vehicle. While the car itself is not ugly and might be even labeled as cool by a younger audience, the TV commercial that was devised and aired (way too frequently) was, in my opinion, ill-thought for the following reasons.
The ad portrayed reckless driving, even if it was confined inside an underground parking.
The car doesn't really show in the ad due to fast motion footage
The car's 4x4 capabilities are praised as the driver takes it on top of a very unchallenging, well laid out, nicely painted, gradually increasing in height barrels.
Both drivers are over-acting with exaggerated facial expressions
You might not agree with my analysis but this was my view of the ad. It simply felt lame. This opinion was behind the unfortunate series of events that would follow.
You can watch the video here.
As I watched the ad on TV for the Nth time, opinionated as I am, I decided to express my discontent via Twitter by firing up a tweet where I tagged the company in the hope they would get more interested in why their ad seemed annoying to me (and perhaps to several others who shared my opinion).
While I initially thought they would simply ignore me, their community manager, replying at 1 AM, did not take lightly to me being critical of their (his?) ad. It didn't take long for things to spiral out of control into what felt to me like an episode of The Twilight Zone applied to social media.
The initial exchange on Twitter
RYMCO later deleted their tweets
Their initial reply would have been professional and even disarming, for any critic, had they omitted the last part where they proudly announced: "Actually, we don't care about your opinion". The sheer arrogance behind the replies implied I was either communicating with an amateur or someone who had taken my comments on the ad too personally. This would cast a doubt on whether a seasoned community manager was answering vs someone more implicated in the making of the ad itself. But I speculate...
While I personally could have simply switched off, ignored the brand altogether (even if we were considering them for a car purchase plan) and went on to take my hard earned cash to a brand that would show a bit more respect, I felt that the public and consequently the RYMCO management needed to know about this.
I used the screenshots from above to post on Facebook the following statement.
Public support quickly came pouring in especially from bloggers who immediately took over the story and reported on the lack of professionalism displayed by the person behind the RYMCO account. Top bloggers covered the story by dedicating extensive or shorter posts. I mention specifically:
Several others lent their support by re-tweeting or expression their dislike of how this was handled by the brand. A small minority of popular bloggers however preferred to lay low. While I was surprised by this knowing that they normally would post about anything from a leaf blowing in the wind to a major natural disaster, I understand they might not want to antagonize brands ahead of Freebie Holiday Season.
What was most ironic was that the same arrogant replies went on through the next morning without any apologetic behavior. It was only around noon that the tone behind the twitter account of the brand changed: a clear sign of someone else taking over and trying to mend things. The offending tweets were deleted (in vain) and someone tried to get creative by trying to spin the incident into a planned setup or mounted stunt aimed at going viral. For a while RYMCO and supporting third parties tried to imply I was in on the stunt. I WAS NOT! I switfly replied to all tweets suggesting such a thing with a solid denial. Eventually RYMCO started issuing corporate-like statements spread out into 4 tweets
It's been a bumpy ride for Rymco today. Whether staged or not, we would like to genuinely apologize from you @chemali and from all (1)
all followers for this misstep. We believe that brands grow through constructive criticism and feedback, whether concerning (2)
advertisements, products or services. All opinions are welcome. (3)
We would love to extend this apology to a phone call with you @chemali . We would greatly appreciate a DM with your contact details (4)
Although I was still offended they were not completely assuming responsibility by hinting to it "being staged or not", I chose to accept the stretched out olive branch and exchanged it with my 8-digit contact number. Ten minutes later, to my surprise, on the other end of the line was Mr Fayez Rasamny, RYMCO's own Chairman. (RYMCO stands for "Rasamny Younis Motor Co.").
I will naturally not disclose the details of my conversation with Mr Rasamny. But what I can share is this:
We had a very open, sincere and friendly conversation. I have always had huge respect for leaders that step up and make things right when someone in their crew messes up. It's this attitude that can make or break a company. I am glad to see that whatever behavior I was subject to did not reflect RYMCO's corporate values.
Further to this phone call I tweeted once more confirming that things were resolved. After all credit needs to be given where credit is due.
In conclusion, a few words of advice: If you are a marketing manager, a communication manager or simply a person entrusted with a brand's social presence always be aware of the following:
When you engage people from the brand's account, there is no room for personal ego. You represent the brand and as such are liable to portray it as the brand has chosen itself to be positioned.
Social Media became a runaway hit because it allowed a two-way communication channel between brands and customers. If you are going to tell a fan/follower that you don't care about their opinion, whether directly or indirectly, you might as well close your social channels and go back to doing billboards.
"When you're in a hole...stop digging". If you have already messed up and you know it. Don't aggravate the situation by refusing to acknowledge your mistakes and pursuing down the same path. Sometimes fans are willing to give you a break, learn how to take it.
Apologizing is essential. It says a lot about your maturity as a brand. Taking ownership of one's mistakes is the first step towards fixing them. Do NOT wait until you have been cornered to apologize. It ends up sounding so much less sincere. Make your apologies as soon as you realize your mistake and make it count.
Criticism can be harsh, opinionated and perhaps even unfounded. Use the criticism to discover the angles that you may have missed. Accepting criticism and asking about why it came to happen is a sure way to address weaknesses in your business and improving them. Social Media offers a fast and efficient means to do it. Use it!
Finally, since, I am writing this post right in the middle of the End-of-Year Holidays, I wanted to close on a positive note with a beautifully conceived card by RYMCO which I gladly re-tweeted just recently.
As I sat in the auditorium watching someone present a really uninteresting piece of software, I could not help but check my twitter timeline.
It was on March 19th right before the ArabNet Beirut event. Alfa Telecommunications, one of Lebanon's two (duopole) mobile operators had been trying to boost their twitter following after their direct competitor Touch had overtaken them.
I cannot speculate whether this heightened interest in getting more followers had been instigated by me reaching out to some very high "powers that be" within Alfa pointing out how badly their social media is being run.
I had been part of the original staff that worked at Cellis which later became Alfa and I felt bad to see them trailing behind Touch after I had personally and single handedly launched them into social way ahead of their competition.
A first infographic sent on Jan 20th 2012 after Touch had debuted on Social Media
Without digressing further, Alfa was giving away valuable tickets to attend ArabNet to its follower base. A normal and fair practice that normally gets you to do something engaging in return for a prize.
What was not normal for me was to see the community manager behind the twitter account attributing the ticket to one of alfa's own employees. I easily recognized the name based on my long period working there but I was not about to let my past relationship with Alfa cloud my sense of Right and Wrong.
Someone was taking the public for a ride. Whether it was intentional and malicious or simply oblivious it did not matter any more.
Using the most basic cognitive reasoning techniques I compiled the following image and fired a tweet at our dynamic and twitter-active Minister of Telecommunication Mr Nicolas Sehnaoui
The person on the left was confirmed as an employee.
The person on the right was an unfortunate coincidence and resemblance
The tweet went viral quickly and people tweeted back at Alfa expressing their discontent. Bloggers also took over the story with posts appearing on Plus961 and Blog Baladi
Alfa eventually took corrective measures in a format that suggested they were as surprised as everybody else by the fact that the winner was their own employee (even though his twitter bio pointed to linkedin where his job at alfa was prominently stated).
In retrospect, being caught with their hand in the jar could have been the best thing to have happened to Alfa as all other maneuvers were falling flat on their face. This made many people realize that the number 2 operator was on twitter and perhaps made Alfa realize that social media was serious business.
Billboards, TV commercials, brochures and the occasional sponsoring tactics were no longer enough to make themselves noticed. And this time the people could shout back their opinions.
Welcome to the era of Social Media Marketing!
At the time this post was written Alfa still had 46799 followers versus Touch with 70617 followers
